Laurel of Northeast Georgia February 22

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laurel of

WELCOME

February 2022 • Volume Nineteen • Issue Two

Northeast Georgia

from the Publisher

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t’s February folks and I’ll quote a brilliant mind...“Good Grief” – Cold or not the month of love is here and it’s sure to be filled Lucy (Charlie Brown) with roses, chocolates, diamonds and romantic dinners.

Snow, ice, cold! Winter, you are most certainly confused, you are Well, another option is chicken n’ dumplin’s, a piece of pie not welcome here. Not to the extreme that you’ve shown up these and a new heating pad. Either works for me, I am just glad past few weeks. This is ridiculous and I’d like you to calm down to have someone I love so much. Regardless of what you and be a nice sunny 55 degrees. If you can do that we’ll get a choose I hope it’s a special day for you. long just fine. I get it, it’s winter and we are supposed to see cold This month we had a photo contest and the winner is featured temperatures and a few flakes of snow, but an inch, not 8-10 and on our cover. Lorie introduces Providence Farmstead Beef, 30 degrees, not 19. Come on now, this is Georgia!

Peter writes another of his amazing poems and includes an adventure to boot! Our new guy, Michael Detrick, takes us to Franklin for some fun and I learn about CPR. We will invite you to visit with us and hope that something will make you laugh or brings a smile, something makes you wish you lived here or incredibly grateful that you do. We are blessed to call this home!

Happy Valentines to ya!

Tracy

Laurel of Northeast Georgia Mailing: PO Box 2218 - Clayton, Georgia 30525 Office: 2511 Highway 441 Mountain City, Georgia 30562 706-782-1600 • www.laurelofnortheastgeorgia.com Contributing Writers: Emory Jones; Jan Timms; Lorie Thompson; Jamie Smoot Speed; Dick Cinquina; Amanda Howard Pileski, PhD; Sean Dietrich; Liz Alley; Mark Holloway; Tricia Moore; Deena C. Bouknight

STAFF Publisher/Editor - Marketing - Tracy McCoy Art Director - Dianne VanderHorst Graphics - Lucas McCoy Marketing & Office Manager - Cindi Freeman Assistant Office Manager - D’Anna Coleman Sales Associate / Writer - Michael Detrick Writer - John Shivers Photographer / Writer - Peter McIntosh

Copyright 2022 by Rabun’s Laurel Inc. All rights reserved. The Laurel of Northeast Georgia Magazine is published twelve times per year. Reproduction without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publishers and editors are not responsible for unsolicited material and it will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication subject to the Laurel of Northeast Georgia magazine’s right to edit. Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, photographs and drawings. Every effort has been made to assure that all information presented in this issue is accurate, and neither Laurel magazine or any of its staff is responsible for omissions or information that has been misrepresented to the magazine. The Laurel of Northeast Gorgia maintains a Christian focus throughout their magazine. Rabun’s Laurel, Inc. reserves the right to refuse content or advertising for any reason without explanation.

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Contents

Arts & Entertainment 8 10 12 14 16 18

Cover Artist – Carson Sprinkle Finalists of the Cover Artist Contest NGAG - Diana Winuk Winterfest Commerce Folk and Fine Art Festival A Rising Star Among Us

Southern Cuisine 22 24

Bon Appétit Local Provisions

Outdoorsy 30 32

Adventure Out Just Thinking...

Faith in Christ 34 36

Sixty Years - A Different Kind of Love Story River Garden

Live Healthy and Be Well 40 44 46 48

Mental Health Be a Lifesaver Pet Health “Enjoy life, we’ll take good care of you.”

Mountain Homes 56 60

This Home “Wows”, Then “Wows” Again “Lawd’s Cove” Offers Paradise, Privacy, Peace

Around Town 64 67 68 67

Michael on the Map – Franklin, North Carolina Vintage Exotics Found in Clarkesville Lovin’ the Journey - A Young Coach Makes Waves FAITH Sweetheart Ball

Looking Back 70 72

Rabun County Historical Society Foxfir

Just Thinking 74

By The Way

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THE ARTS

Cover Artist –Carson Sprinkle

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s a North Georgia Technical College alumni, I was honored to feature their Photography program. Instructors Melissa Henderson and Jim Loring are obviously doing an incredible job teaching their students, evident in the recent student submissions. For February we held a NGTC Photography contest for the cover of the February issue. Each student offered submissions from which we selected one to advance to our panel of judges who voted for their favorites.

This class made the selection process difficult because there were some really nice photos to choose from. With votes tallied, our winner was Clarkesville native, Carson Sprinkle. His photo which we named “Snowy Umbrella Kiss” was perfect as we all celebrate our sweethearts this month. “I had been out all day shooting in the recent snow and after I returned to school this idea came to mind so I grabbed this couple and we found this alleyway on campus for the shot. I like the way it turned out and I am glad you all liked it too,” Carson said of the winning photo.

The college participates in the SkillsUSA Georgia Post-Secondary competition each year and many students have won bronze, silver and gold in their program of study.

In 2020, though SkillsUSA had moved to a virtual format, Carson competed with fellow student Hannah Jones in the TV Production contest and won Gold. They went on to compete at the SkillsUSA National level and brought home Silver.

Within the program, Carson and other students gain experience in a wide range of photographic specialties including lifestyle, portraiture, nature, commercial, multimedia, and photojournalism. They learn essential skills in photo editing, utilizing Adobe® Photoshop to produce their portfolio. They are taught to complete a business plan, and learn an introduction to design and marketing. The program’s motto is “practical skills for real world jobs”, and that is education you can put into practice, something our cover artist Carson has and is doing.

Carson began learning videography on his own during his last couple of years at Habersham Central High School. He really enjoyed making funny videos to share with friends. He videoed family and community events around town, capturing memories as they were made. He calls himself a free-lance videographer and the word on the street confirmed that. Graduating from high school in 2020, while the world faced a global pandemic, Carson was unsure what his future would include.

NGTC hosted an admissions open house allowing students to come and learn about their course offerings. Carson walked around but was most intrigued by the Photography program’s table where he talked with the instructors and current students. After careful consideration, Carson decided he’d like to enroll and learn more than all he thought he knew.

“I thought I had a lot of knowledge coming in their doors, but pretty soon I realized I had a lot more to learn. A whole new world was opened up to me and I have loved it,” Carson shared during a recent interview.

When Covid-19 began in early 2020, the church that Carson has grown up in, Joy Baptist Church, could not meet for services. In response, Carson began videoing the services to share on social media. His father Kevin Sprinkle is the Assistant Chief of the Clarkesville Fire Department and when the department needed some updated headshots taken, he knew just who could handle that task. Carson has indeed already started his business CLS Films and is focused 100% on it’s success. He offers videography and photography for weddings, corporate and community events, and special occasions of any kind.

Carson’s work has the earmarks of a stellar photographer. He is a Nikon shooter and dreams of owning the new Nikon z9. He laughs now thinking of the camera he started with. As his skills have reached professional 8 - www.laurelofnortheastgeorgia.com - February 2022

The Future of Photography We wanted to share each of the submissions that were included in the final round with the corresponding student’s name. Thanks to each for their participation and best of luck to all of these students, they are the future of photography!

level, so has his desire to shoot with professional equipment to produce exceptional imagery.

He is in his last semester and will graduate from NGTC in May of this year. He plans to hit the ground running and I feel sure we will see a lot more from Carson and CLS Films.

To speak with Carson, we suggest you call 706968-3301 or e-mail carsonsprinkle02@gmail. com. You can also see more of his work by visiting his website at clsfilms.net.

Laura Wiley

Briana Townsend

Val Williams

Austin Bowden

Desiree Rasor

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THE ARTS

The Future of Photography

Jessica Eash

Sophie Kovitz

Kristen Scott

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Savannah Sanchez

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THE ARTS

North Georgia Arts Guild

The Art and Designs of Diana Winuk

By Tricia Moore

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udging from her beautifully designed equine themed jewelry, one might conclude that Diana Winuk has been involved in the design of these for quite a long time. In fact, this is a relatively new endeavor for Diana, but one in which she has certainly found her niche.

Diana has been creating art since her childhood. Her first form of art was pencil drawing.

Then, “I moved into pointillism and found a love for creating this way,” Diana states. She also started painting in acrylics at an early age with her grandmother, who was a great inspiration to her and gave her a love for painting. But Diana has also always been drawn to design, specifically jewelry design. She began working with beading and wire in her twenties and has been working in that medium all through her life, whenever she had the opportunity.

In addition to her love of art, Diana has a love for law enforcement, which was inspired by her father, who worked in some form of law enforcement for over thirty years. Thus Diana studied Criminal Justice and received her Associate Degree in it in 1985. But driven by her love for art and design, she went on to earn an Associate Degree from Al Collins Graphic Design School in Mesa Arizona in 1990 and later earned a two-year certification in jewelry design from the NY Institute of Art and Design in 2009.

After earning her degree in criminal justice, Diana joined the Lake Mary Police Department in Lake Mary, Florida as a police officer, later joining the Marine Corps as a Military Police and Brig Officer. After her service as a Marine, She took a job as a Maximum Security Correctional Officer at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office until she was recalled into the Marines for

Tricia Moore is a retired teacher, having taught both English and Art in public and private school settings.

She is currently an active member of the NGAG and has held several positions on the board. With her background in both art and writing, she feels that writing the NGAG featured artist article in the Laurel of Northeast Georgia is a good fit and something that she will greatly enjoy doing.

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Desert Storm. Still she found ways to be involved in her art. She states that she created art and jewelry whenever she could as a way to relax.

This love for creating art has been woven through Diana’s life like a golden thread through a garment. But since retiring from law enforcement, brought about partially because of a “knee replacement that went wrong,” creating art has taken a more prominent place in her life. Her love of acrylic painting is clearly shown in her butterfly towers and yard art posts that she sells at some of the shows at which she exhibits. Her beautiful Egyptian Coil and Weeping Willow jewelry are a trademark of Diana’s in art shows as well. The equine themed jewelry and shadow boxes, which are the focal point of more recent shows, began when a friend lost her horse and wanted to do something with her horse’s hair as a memory piece. This has mushroomed into many equine themed jewelry designs and shadow boxes. At a show in Unicoi, Diana’s unique designs caught the eye of a young lady named Victoria Henley of the Magnifique Fashion Show – so much so that she asked Diana if she would be interested in creating jewelry for her models to wear for an upcoming show in Pigeon Forge. “Since that day,” Diana notes, “I have become the headliner jewelry designer for her shows.”

Diana has a long held love of horses, so it seems only natural that she does such a beautiful job of her equine themed art. Her first horse was a Palomino named Buck that her parents got for her and her sister. As an adult, she bought a black Thoroughbred horse named Excelsior, but nicknamed Stormy. She kept him until she was recalled to Desert Storm, at which point she gave him to her friend.

Diana is a very caring and giving person almost to a fault. She works tirelessly in the NGAG, as Recording Secretary on the NGAG Board and in her position of

being in charge of hospitality for the guild.

She is always the first to volunteer when something needs to be done. She also is a dedicated wife, mother, daughter and sister, stating that family is everything to her.

She and her husband Jeff moved to Salem, South Carolina twenty-four years ago after coming to Salem for a friend’s wedding and falling in love with the property there in Salem where they now live. They have two children – Tabitha and Mark. Diana is truly a remarkable person and artist.

To find out more about Diana’s work or to make a purchase, you can reach her by getting in touch with the North Georgia Arts Guild.

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WinterFest Arts Tour

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elen Arts & Heritage Center and Sautee Nacoochee Center present the 2022 WinterFest Arts Tour. The weekend of festivals includes 100 artists at two locations over two days. WinterFest is an interactive, move at your own pace event that is set in the winter beauty of Northeast Georgia. The dates and times are Saturday, February 19 from 10am until 5pm and Sunday, February 20 from 10am until 4pm (President’s Day Weekend), so there is no rush to see everything in one day.

At both locations, local and regional artists will display, sell and demonstrate their skills and bring to life new and exciting pieces.

Visitors may purchase raffle tickets to win artwork contributed by participating artists. Food service and vendors along with live music are present at some sites. There is no charge for WinterFest at each venue, but a multipart ticket may be purchased to enter to win one of two Grand Prizes valued at $250 and above. One ticket is $10 or a book of five tickets for $40. To be eligible to win, the ticket must be stamped at both locations. Tickets may be purchased online or during the event.

While a fundraiser designed to support the educational efforts of the Sautee Nacoochee Center, WinterFest is an important economic driver for Northeast Georgia during an otherwise quiet time of year. The event is coordinated by the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and funded in part by the White County Commission, and by a grant from the Georgia Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Sautee Nacoochee Corporate Partners ProgramTM. Experience a mixture of heritage, art, and fine craft at the Alpine Winter Festival at the Helen Arts & Heritage Center, which is located on Chattahoochee Strasse in downtown Helen. ​The Center’s heritage museum presents the “Story of Helen”. Over 50 artists are represented in the galleries.

The artists at the Sautee Nacoochee Art Festival come from Georgia, the Carolinas, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. All of the 30-plus artists who participate are juried, ensuring the best original local and regional artwork. Over 250 artists are represented in the Sautee Nacoochee Center Gallery Shops. Located at 283 Hwy 255 N in Sautee, the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association is a member-based organization serving White and Habersham Counties and all of northeast Georgia. Its mission is to value and nurture individual creativity, along with the historical, cultural and environmental resources of the Sautee and Nacoochee Valleys and surrounding area. For more information, visit www.snca.org or call 706-878-3300.

A number of other opportunities to explore are also available at the Sautee Nacoochee Center. The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia will be open and welcoming visitors for free. The Heritage Site slave cabin and blacksmith shop will be open and staffed. Hands-on activities will be offered in the Native Peace Garden.

Selected as one of their Top Twenty Events by the Southeastern Tourism Association in 2018, WinterFest continues to be an event that draws visitors from near and far. Information about and tickets for the WinterFest Arts Tour are available at www.WinterFestArtsTour. com or by calling 706-878-3300.

Because of COVID-19, and the concern about social distancing, the Hop On - Hop Off coach service will not be available for the 2022 WinterFest. Free parking is available at the Sautee Nacoochee Center with limited free parking at the Helen Arts & Heritage Center.

The following COVID-19 safety protocols will be encouraged: mask wearing and social distancing. Masks will be available on site as well as sanitizing stations.

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THE ARTS

Commerce Folk to Fine Arts Festival

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he Commerce Civic Center & Tourism Authority is proud to host the 10th annual Folk to Fine Arts Festival! Each year the festival continues to captivate visitors with Fine & Folk Artists, offering various types and forms of folk to fine art, including oil and acrylic paintings, watercolors, sculpture, photography, pottery, jewelry, decorative fiber works, metal works, paper, stone and so much more. The setting for the festival is the historic Commerce Civic Center on State Street, originally the Commerce Cotton Exchange.

The festival begins at 3pm on Friday, March 4th with a Meet the Artist Sip and Shop Reception from 3pm until 8pm, where visitors enjoy mingling with the artists, with pieces for sale, while enjoying complementary drinks. Admission is $15.

On Saturday, March 5th the festival is open from 9am until 7pm. Admission is only $5 per person with children 10 and under free. Lunch will be available for purchase on Saturday.

The Festival is held in the Commerce Civic Center, located at 110 State Street, Commerce, Georgia 30529. For more information call 706-335-6417 or visit the festival’s website at www.folk-finearts.com or email folktofinearts@ commercega.org.

Rabun native Kip Ramey painted the Commerce cityscape for promotion of the festival. Kip’s work is widely known and loved by all. He has done many murals and paints on almost anything, recycling and repurposing items, giving them new life with bold colors and his distinct flair! Kip will be at the Folk to Fine Art Festival along with many other incredible artists.

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THE ARTS

A Rising Star Among Us

By Deena C. Bouknight

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bout 15 million people changed addresses in 2020 according to the United States Postal Service, and the singer known as FINLAY was one of them. The Millennial musician, who for privacy reasons prefers not to release her given name, decided to ditch her beloved Los Angeles, California, last year for personal and health reasons. A few months earlier, her mother had decided to move to Clayton, Georgia, to “get back to nature” and experience the quiet of a mountain community, so FINLAY and her husband, owner of Upward Marketing Collective, decided to do the same. They purchased a fixer-upper in Clayton and settled into a less hectic lifestyle.

However, FINLAY still has one foot in the music industry due to her burgeoning popularity nationally and internationally on a variety of social media and music streaming platforms. Her songs, which she writes, are intended to be deeply reflective of real life and are married with soothing and/or upbeat pop music.

One of her most popular songs, Tides, conveys loosely a shark attack she nearly did not survive when she was 21 years old. The music video features a distinct, catchy pop tune and beautiful oceanic scenery, but it was a cathartic process for FINLAY. A native of Houston, she decided one summer day in 2012 to visit a Gulf Coast beach with some family friends. She was on her surfboard teaching a 9-year-old some surfing basics when she was swirled by a wave. When she came back up for a breath, she realized one of her legs was splayed open at the knee and she was bleeding profusely.

“I didn’t know what had happened at first because I didn’t see the shark,” she said. “The girl I was teaching was so brave. She ran to shore to inform an on-site nurse and I just tried to hold my leg together and get to shore because I thought if it really was a shark that I needed to get out of the water quickly.”

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She received emergency surgery to repair her leg and thought the prognosis would be positive. But oil, bacteria, and chemicals in the hot Gulf waters quickly caused her body to experience sepsis. She was given a 50% chance to live and a 50% chance to keep her leg.

In the meantime, another shark attack occurred a few days later in the same spot and the bull shark was killed.

During a week of intense antibiotic treatments and drastic spikes and declines in her blood pressure, FINLAY’s parents, friends, and family prayed constantly. Eventually she healed, and years later she decided to allude to the experience while writing the lyrics for and filming the music video for Tides.

“The number-one question I’ve gotten since that attack is would I ever go back into the ocean,” she said. “I pushed myself to get back into the ocean because I simply couldn’t lose what I loved.

The water is a quintessential part of inspiration for my artistry.”

A graduate of Biola University in Southern California, FINLAY found her voice while studying film and entertainment. She began singing in worship bands and decided to seriously pursue a music career while still in college. “After the attack, I decided to pursue the music industry as an artist with total abandon – aiming to write and perform chart-topping records for all ages.”

She chose the stage name FINLAY because it is her middle name, an Irish-descent name passed down to her through five generations. As not just a singer and songwriter, but as a musician and performer as well, she taps into her classical piano and choreography training when creating and filming new songs and videos.

Her music has garnered millions of listens and likes and the attention of various media outlets, including National Public Radio.

Besides launching solo career releases (singles and extended plays [EPs] to date with a debut album on the way) and collaborating on projects with other popular musicians, FINLAY writes and records for commercials, trailers, etc., as an independent artist. Some of her other songs that the public can listen to include Edge of Mine, Bones, Deep End, and more. She also creates and oversees all of her release assets, official website, and digital presence.

“Of course, as an artist I would eventually like to partner with a major label,” she said.

FINLAY has reached some milestones, most recently achieving Top 100 status on the Apple Music charts in countries like Canada, South Africa, and the Philippines, and she has secured coveted playlist positions with Spotify. “Over time, listeners begin to discover you and want more.”

In 2021, collaborator Chris Wright of NATIIVE flew from California to spend time working with FINLAY on new material. “When collaborating with producers, it can be difficult to find one with similar vision, goals … but I have that with Chris, and collaboration opens up opportunities for reaching more audiences.”

Last February, FINLAY and NATIIVE together released Reset, with lyrics that focus on finding solitude and slowing down.

“My goal as an artist is reach and exposure with maximum positive impact … creating music that’s memorable, powerful, and hopefully points my generation to messaging that is reflective, countercultural, and purposeful. I’d also love to do a national and international tour in the very near future.”

In the meantime she will finish renovating the Clayton home she shares with her husband, and then she plans to embark on new music projects and releases as well as settle into her new community while planning her first tour.

“Joining this special mountain community has been such an incredible breath of fresh air, both personally and professionally,” she added.

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“You are not in the mountains.

The mountains are in you.”

-John Muir

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9 SOUTHERN CUISINE

Bon Appétit - Hello Winter!

By Scarlett Cook

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s I write this we don’t have power and the inside temp is in the low 60’s and the outside temp is 37. We have a new generator sitting in the yard but alas it isn’t hooked up to the house yet. So much for being prepared for a Rabun County winter day. So of course my thoughts are on warm, delicious food – or just a cup of hot coffee. These recipes will warm you up and don’t take many ingredients; just dust off your crockpot and get started. Stay warm and happy Valentine’s Day to you.

Broccoli Corn Bread 8 Servings 1 Stick butter, melted 10 Ounce bag chopped broccoli, cooked and drained 1 Onion, chopped 1 Box corn bread mix 4 Eggs, well beaten 8 Ounces cottage cheese 1 1/4 Teaspoon salt Spray crockpot with cooking spray.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Pour into crockpot.

Cook on low 6 hours.

Invert pot to remove bread and cut into wedges to serve.

Italian Vegetable Beef Soup 8 – 10 Servings 1 Chuck roast, cut into 1/2” pieces 2 Tablespoons oil 3 Carrots, sliced 4 Potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 Small onion, diced 1 Teaspoon garlic powder 1 Teaspoon Italian seasoning 3/4 Teaspoon salt 1/2 Teaspoon pepper 15 Ounce can diced Italian tomatoes 6 Ounce can Italian flavored tomato paste 8 Cups water* 8 Cups beef broth* Brown beef in oil in a skillet.

Spray crockpot with cooking spray.

Place beef in bottom of crockpot.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over beef Cook on high 6 – 8 hours or until potatoes and carrots are tender. *If soup becomes too thick add more water and / or beef broth.

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Creamy Crockpot Chicken 6 Servings 1 Envelope dry onion soup mix 2 Cups sour cream 1 Can cream of chicken soup 6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs Cooked brown rice Spray crockpot with cooking spray.

Combine soup mix, sour cream and soup and pour into crockpot.

Add chicken pushing it down into soup mixture.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

Serve sauce and chicken over rice.

Hash Brown Potatoes 8 – 10 Servings 2 Pound package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed 1 Small onion, diced 1 Stick butter, melted 16 Ounce container French onion dip 8 Ounce package shredded Cheddar cheese Spray crockpot with cooking spray.

Combine potatoes, onion, butter, dip and cheese; mix well.

Pour into crockpot and cook on low 4 – 6 hours or 2 – 3 hours on high.

Cherry Delight 8 – 10 Servings 21 Ounce can cherry pie filling 1 Package yellow cake mix 1 Stick butter, melted 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts Spray crockpot with cooking spray.

Place pie filling in crockpot.

Combine cake mix and butter; mixture will be crumbly.

Sprinkle cake mixture over pie filling.

Sprinkle walnuts over cake mixture.

Cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours.

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9 SOUTHERN CUISINE

LOCAL Provisions

By Lorie Thompson

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have appointed myself as an expert guide to all things “local”. I want to share my perspective of this beautiful place that I call home and the benefits of living in the country.

One of the great things about living here is having access to high-quality locally grown food. Having dinner at one of our fabulous restaurants or making a Saturday trip to the weekend farmers market, you will find locally grown food on offer. One of my recent discoveries is American Wagyu Beef from Providence Farmstead in Otto, NC. Let me tell you about it.

You may have seen a post on Social Media from people in recent months who bought a steak or a pack of Providence Farm ground beef from Andy’s Market in Clayton. Last Fall, Andy asked me if I had

Lorie Thompson is a REALTOR at Poss Realty in Clayton, Georgia. Her expertise in her industry is second only to her culinary talents. Lorie is a dynamo in the kitchen. Honestly if she prepares it, it will likely be the best you’ve ever had! Lorie and her husband, Anthony (Peanut), make their home in the Persimmon Community. She is the proud mother of Joe Thompson and Kendall Thompson.

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tried the new steaks he was selling. Now, Andy knows good beef, and when he recommended it, I turned around and went back to the meat counter and picked out two beautiful ribeyes. Mountain Man and I agreed they were some of the best steaks we had ever eaten!

I have told you all in the past that I grew up eating my Dad’s Black Angus beef, and I know what good beef should taste like. This American Wagyu Beef is marvelous!

My first thought was if the steaks are that good, how good are the other cuts? I wanted to try the ribs, shanks, pot roast, and more! I reached out to McAllister Russell, whose family owns and operates Providence Farmstead. McCallister shared her family story with me as we toured their Otto, NC farm.

Their family has had a home on Lake Rabun for many years and a dairy business in California. Their roots are in Georgia, and the family has returned here to live. They purchased the former Springridge Creamery in Otto and raised their Wagyu and Jersey cattle. They also have purchased a Habersham County farm with plans to have the Wagyu beef operation in Habersham and rebuild the Otto farm’s dairy. The Otto farm will include a Farmstead Store selling dairy products and beef.

The Russell’s will be breaking ground on the new facility this Spring!

1 - 1/2 or 1/4 Beef Brisket 1/2 carton of unsalted Beef Broth 1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix 1 jar of Hillside Orchard Vidalia Onion Steak Sauce 4 TBSP of Brown Sugar Any Steak seasoning Thaw the Brisket. Pat it dry and put the steak seasoning and brown sugar on it and let it sit for one hour to come up in temperature. Put Beef Broth and onion soup packet in the crockpot and put the Brisket in, fat side up. Pour steak sauce on top of the Brisket. Cook on Low for 8 hours

I bought a whole beef for my family, and the entire process was straightforward. McCallister helped me fill out a form for the butcher so that I had the meat cut to my exact specifications. One of the many benefits of buying a whole beef is getting cuts that are not readily available in the local grocery store, such as a Coulotte or Picanha steak. McCallister educated me in these new (to me!) cuts of beef, and I am enjoying learning about them with this high-quality meat.

The philosophy of Providence Farm is that every day of their animal’s life is a great day. The cattle are fed supplemental, high-quality food as needed and are pastured with plenty of fresh water and mountain air. They receive excellent care and are beautiful, healthy cattle.

McAllister shared one of her Dad, C.A. Russel’s recipes with me: It is an easy-to-make crockpot recipe for Brisket. Let me tell you how to make it: February 2022 - www.laurelofnortheastgeorgia.com - 25

9 SOUTHERN CUISINE LOCAL Provisions

While unloading my order from his refrigerated trailer, I asked Lars Russell what I should cook first, and he suggested Osso Bucco. Since this is one of my favorite dishes, I thought that was a great idea, and it did not disappoint. Let me tell you how to make it: Using a paper towel, pat the beef shanks as dry as possible and salt and pepper them.

Rough chop a large onion, 2-3 stalks of celery, and 2-3 large carrots. Finely chop 6-8 cloves of garlic, In a large braising pan or a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, sear the shanks in olive oil until they are browned on both sides. Remove from the pot and hold. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery with a sprinkle of salt to help them lose their liquid. Add 2-3 Tbsp of tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes while stirring. Add the finely chopped garlic and continue stirring and cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Turn down the heat and add 1 tsp of dried thyme and rosemary, 1 Tbsp of parsley, 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes.

Add 2 cups of red wine and 2 cups of beef stock. Add the shanks back into the pot and cover with a tight-fitting lid.

Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat falls off the bone. Serve over mashed potatoes or, my favorite, polenta cooked with cream and parmesan cheese.

If you have the freezer space and are interested in buying a bulk order of the beef, the Russells make the process very easy. McAllister will walk you through selecting the steer and filling out the processor’s cut sheet. Her brother, Lars will deliver your order to your door and help you get it unpacked and stored.

Buying a whole or a half steer is an economical way to have the highest quality beef you can buy. Find a friend (or two!) who would share a beef with you and enjoy!

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9

OUTDOORSY

Adventure Out Scaly Mountain

By Peter McIntosh

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ebruary is Valentine’s Month and with that in mind we’re going to visit a romantic overlook. Our destination is Scaly Mountain, just over the border in North Carolina. Scaly Mountain features several rock outcroppings that offer views to the south and to the west.

There are two ways to reach the summit, one’s fairly difficult and one’s kinda easy. The trailhead for the difficult footpath is just across the highway from the Osage Overlook on the Highlands Road. (Hwy 246 in Georgia and Hwy 106 in North Carolina.)

Burt we’re talking romance here so let’s focus on the easier route, from Hickory Knut Road. There’s a nice sign at the trailhead that says Scaly Mountain -1.8 miles, but it’s not that far before you reach some outstanding view spots. After walking around a gate, the trail follows a roadbed for about 1/3 of a mile before bearing off to the right on a blue blazed pathway that’s a 1 mile lead-in to the

Peter McIntosh is an accomplished professional photographer. His photography is displayed in collections across the country. His passion for nature and the outdoors is what fuels his column. His work is available as fine art prints. Peter offers one on one and small group instruction on camera operation and photography. To see more of Peter’s photos, or if you have a question or comment, visit Peter’s website: www.mcintoshmountains.com 30 - www.laurelofnortheastgeorgia.com - February 2022

Bartram Trail. Upon reaching the yellow blazed Bartram Trail, go the right, following the signs to the summit. Along the way keep your eyes out for side trails offering up splendid views of Rabun Bald and other mountains to the south. A little further up the trail is an opening on the left that leads to an expansive rock face that’s looking west. From here you’re looking across the Little Tennessee River into the mountains of northeast Georgia: Black Rock, Glassy, and Tiger, as well as the mountains of western North Carolina: Pickens Nose, Ridgepole, and Albert. It’s a beautiful place to watch a sunset, just dress warmly and maybe bring a thermos of hot cocoa to share with your special someone. And those chemical hand warmers are a nice thing to share as well. (And while I said this trail is easy, there can be slippery ice on the rocky outcroppings so trekking poles are always a good idea.) Happy hiking!

P.S. If you really want to be romantic, why not book a cottage for the weekend. It doesn’t have to be Valentine’s, on that day you can just show them you’ve made plans for a future mountain adventure.

One of my favorite places in that neck of the woods is the Sky High Cottage. It’s a fantastic high mountain hideaway, reasonably priced and owned by good folks. - http://skyhighcottage.tumblr.com For this month with a heart, my poem doth start: Yes it’s still winter but don’t get frantic, Let’s hike out to a spot that’s truly romantic.

The views from this spot are not to be missed, So pretty in fact, you might just get kissed.

Getting there: From Hwy 441 in Dillard, go east on Hwy 246 eight miles to the Osage Overlook. (The difficult trailhead is here.) For the easier trail, continue on what is now Hwy 106, 1.5 miles to Turtle Pond Road on the left, After turning left, immediately left again, still on Turtle Pond Road. Look for Hickory Knut Road on left and just about a mile to the well marked trailhead and parking area.

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9

OUTDOORSY

Just Thinking…

By Liz Alley

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his morning I woke early at 5:15 and made my way to the coffee pot. When I went to bed last night, it was balmy, near 75 degrees. However, somewhere during the night a blustery wind came through and brought with it a wintery mix. It did so without the drama and destruction of a tornado, thank you very much. I knew I’d be up early, that I would be clamoring around in the kitchen before Bach’s Goldberg Variations would have the chance to delicately wake me. I knocked about in my closet, looking for my wool socks and leggings, my good toboggan with the braids. I got my coffee and stepped out into the morning, shutting the door on the warmth behind me. The sky was still dark except for the forlorn porch bulb of my neighbor, it’s soft yellow light sending wavy shadows over my fence. I started the car and eased down the road to the hiking trail.

Over a year ago, my niece, Chelsea, and I started walking. I was in terrible shape and ashamed of how little I could walk without sputtering and gasping for air. So, we started small, “up the hill” we’d say “and to the mailbox.” After a few days, we might go past the mailbox to the big rock and so on. Our walks were one mile, then two, then three and now, four or more. After about a year, we decided to take our walks to the woods and hike.

During the process of my divorce, five years ago, I walked a lot but had never hiked. I walked to deal with all the tumultuous emotions that roared inside me. One day, a friend invited me to hike, six miles round trip. Into the woods we went, me with my beat-up tennis shoes and one bottle of water. On the drive to the hike my heart was heavy with grief, my head propped against the window as I watched the world go whizzing past. I remember feeling like I was literally untethered and floating in darkness, though it was a beautiful day. During this time I was both desperate to be alone and desperate not to be. I was betwixt and between, I was a rock in a hard place. I marched, rather than walked into the woods that day. I was angry and that anger fueled me but then it turned to sorrow, as it always does and I began to lose my strength. By the time we got back to the car hours later, I could hardly move, I didn’t speak one word on the way home. That day I learned an important lesson, if your heart and mind aren’t up for the task, it’s going to be

a miserable hike. That hike was definitely miserable. You cannot demand mother nature to heal you. In one of my favorite poems, “After the Dawn” I read,” You must accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of a woman not the grief of a child.” It would take many walks and many talks with God to untangle the knots of my soul. With every good-bye and with every step forward, I learned.

So it was with trepidation I began to hike again. My niece and I determined that in celebration of one year of walking, we’d hike Stone Mountain. I googled how far of a hike it would be, one-mile, easy peasy, I remember thinking. On the way, we decided we’d hike it twice since it was only one mile, this would be no problem whatsoever. Yeah, it’s called “Stone Mountain” for a reason and that stone mountain is straight up, there was no doing it twice.

Afterward ,we fell into the car laughing at our ignorance.

The most difficult hike so far has been Yonah Mountain. My sister Lynn and I headed up Yonah on a cold morning, under a crisp blue sky. We talked about how much we missed our mother, how if she were still alive, we’d make our way to Cannon Wood and tell her all about our day. We let those words hang in the mountain air, absorb into the rocks and hills. I listened to the sound of our footsteps on crunchy leaves against the backdrop of the sounds of the forest, the rustling of leaves on gnarly branches, the tap, tap, tap of a woodpecker in the distance. At the top of the mountain, where I thought we’d never arrive, I sat on the edge, my feet dangling, overcome with how small I felt by the height and the vastness of the view.

I’ve learned some things on the hiking trails. I’ve learned how a copperhead really does blend in with the fall leaves and to respect that. I see how the hikes organize my thoughts, as I wrote this article in my head on Yonah Mountain before it ever made it to the page, the words scribbling themselves on the tablet of my brain between the dappling light and long shadows. Most of all, I’ve learned life is like hiking, you put one foot in front of the other even when the path seems long and rocky, because it sure is beautiful at the top.

Whatever mountain you have to climb this year, the year of 2022, I pray for happy trails for you.

Liz Alley was born and raised in Rabun County in the city of Tiger. She loves to write. She is an interior designer specializing in repurposing the broken, tarnished, chipped, faded, worn and weathered into pieces that are precious again. She is the mother of two daughters and has two grandchildren. She divides her time between her home in Newnan and Rabun County.

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9 FAITH IN CHRIST

Sixty Years – A Different Kind of Love Story

By Sean Dietrich – Sean of the South

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’ll call her Melinda. Melinda is 77 years young, the mother of two. rich boys and blue-collar girls are not bound to last. Melinda was in way over her head and social rank, but too naive to know it.

She is your typical American grandma.

She helps arrange flowers at her Methodist church. She belongs When her family doctor told her she was with child, it came as to a bridge group. She has two very spoiled lap dogs with double devastating news. This was 1961. Rich boys did not father the children of working-class girls. And if they did, the girls were taken first names. She has been married for over half a century. away and dealt with.

Last month Melinda and her husband drove from Florida to California. Her Toyota traversed 2,676 miles across the American As I say, different times. interstate system for a very important meeting.

No sooner had her belly began to show than she was whisked out of town. A cock-and-bull story was invented to keep everyone from But I’m getting ahead of myself. wondering where she had gone.

Melinda’s story starts about 60 years ago, when she was 16 years “She’s helping at a church camp,” was one rumor going around. old.

It was a different age. Kennedy was president. Gas was 31 cents per “She’s attending a prestigious school up north,” was another story. gallon. She was pretty, brunette, innocent, and aimless. She had a “I heard she became a nun.” relationship with the son of a prominent man in town.

“Didn’t she join the Peace Corps?”

Melinda believed she was in love, but teenage romances between The girl was strongly advised by adults in her life to give her child Sean Dietrich is a columnist, novelist, and podcast host, known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Southern Living, Garden and Gun, The Tallahassee Democrat, Good Grit, South Magazine, Alabama Living, the Birmingham News, Thom Magazine, The Mobile Press Register, and he has authored thirteen books, and is the creator of the Sean of the South Podcast. We are pleased that he will now on occasion be featured in The Laurel of Northeast Georgia. Please visit his website www.seanofthesouth.com and follow him on social media under the same name.

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up for adoption. And by “strongly advised,” I mean she had almost no choice.

This wasn’t what she wanted to do, mind you. But she was 16 years old, so she signed the adoption papers and made the biggest decision of her life before she was even old enough to drink.

“You’re doing the right thing,” the adults assured her.

Except, it didn’t feel right. Not to her.

And so it was, the young woman went through the pain of child labor in a strange place, all alone, in secret, away from prying eyes.

She was cared for in a home for unwed mothers, but it might as well have been a foriegn continent.

No sooner had her child been born, than the infant was confiscated from her arms.

“I never even got to hold my baby,” she tells me.

She caught a glimpse of her child’s gender as the nurse carried the child out of the room. But it was purely accidental, she would have never even known her child was male if she hadn’t peeked and seen.

That was a long time ago.

Last month, she received a call from an unknown number in California. The old woman was eating dinner at the time. Her husband was seated across from her.

She answered the phone.

“Hello?” she said into the phone receiver.

It was a young man on the phone. “Are you Melinda?”

“Yes. That’s me.”

“The same woman who put her son up for adoption in 1961?”

Her stomach went sour. “Yes.” “I am your son.”

The world went silent. Her eyes became wet. Melinda nearly tested the limits of her pacemaker.

They arranged a time and a place to meet, mother and son.

Melinda hung up the phone and wept for nearly a week thereafter.

She admitted during our brief interview that she wasn’t sure if her tears were shed out of joy or remorse.

“Maybe both,” she said.

She and her husband chose not to fly and instead drove across the Continental U.S. “My husband was my cheerleader,” she said. “He just kept telling me to hang in there. He kept telling me to relax.”

When they arrived at the public park where they agreed to meet, she was trembling. Her husband held her quivering hands and whispered reassuring words to her.

Then she saw him. She knew it was him. Melinda could tell by his gait. The late middle-aged man was across the park, wearing a ball cap. He hadn’t seen her yet, but she saw him. He was tall, and lean, and, in her own words, “very handsome.”

The old woman released her husband’s hand and raced across the pavilion.

And after nearly sixty years, and old woman finally held her baby boy.

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9 FAITH IN CHRIST

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. John 3:16

A place where new life springs forth out of despair, failure and death.

A place where God brings physical, emotional and spiritual healing to you.

GOD IS LOVE Love is the single-most favorite word in any language in the world, and when we hear the words “I love you” spoken to us, we feel good and it makes us happy! The word love, however, is not just a description of an emotional feeling. Love is most often a verb, and it denotes action. The literal meaning of the word love is “to give”. Hence, our English word charity. The old King James translation of the Bible uses the word charity in the love chapter that is found in 1 Corinthians 13. True love gives and is not just a taker. True love is always unconditional and gives without requiring something in return. The scriptures tell us in 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death”.

This means we can know if we give to others from our hearts, we have the love of God operating within us. We know we have passed from death unto life if we give from our heart to others.

The Lord is not telling us in Scripture about impersonally throwing help at problems or people. If He wants you to help someone financially He will tell you just what to do and how to do it. Primarily, He wants you to give of yourself, love is the act of spending yourself for others.

The greatest love is the love God the Father gave of Himself when He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God to take upon Himself the sins and diseases of everyone in the whole world. He took the death penalty in our place. “and all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation: To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” II Cor. 5:18-19. This verse states that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation to tell people that God was in Christ on the cross for them, that He wants all of us to be in close harmony with Him again, and that He tore down the barrier between us. Now He wants us to come back home to Him, because we are forgiven!

Love wakes up in the middle of the night to pray for others, planting seeds of blessing in the lives of those you pray for and moving the hand of God to act on their behalf.

Love brings a meal or supplies to a person or family that is in need.

Love finds time and puts off what you wanted to do, so you have time to help others.

Love visits the sick and infirmed, praying with them and bringing hope.

Love reaches out to addicts and their families to bring the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ for healing and rescue, but not to “party” or participate with them!

Love cares for hurting people and steps in to pray and to help.

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The River Garden Family requests your prayers.

Please be in prayer for the founder and their families.

Thank you.

Love befriends and supports those wounded by divorce or the death of a spouse.

Love provides caring attention and prayer to the elderly, the lonely and shut-ins.

Love comes alongside to comfort and contribute strength to those who are walking through financial problems, giving them hope for the future.

Love prays with families of wayward children, for the power of God to intervene.

Love teaches others how to apply the truths of God’s word that will bring true peace.

Love shows those in need what the Bible tells them about the wonderful, awesome provisions the Lord wants to bestow upon them.

Love pitches in for clean-up and fix-up, building, repair and rebuilding for others.

Love hugs someone whose life is shipwrecked, telling them Jesus Christ will lead them into victory and success according to His plan.

Love becomes tough love when families love their children and other family members enough to let them go to jail or suffer other consequences, before it’s too late for them.

Love works with those caught in the trap of substance/drug abuse to show them the way the Lord has provided for them to escape.

Love instructs people who want to learn how to have their prayers answered.

Love shares victorious personal testimony of God’s mercy, provision and grace, giving hope to those who are struggling.

Love encourages those who are discouraged, and gives them true hope from the Lord.

Love ministers the word of God and prayer to the sick to bring healing from God. Love plants the seeds of the word of God into the hearts of those who are searching for help.

Love gives personally from the heart.

“Love suffers long, and is kind…” 1 Corinthians 13:4 Giving and prayer are the true expressions of love to others!

Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, asking for your hand to take charge of America to bring your people and our Nation back to righteousness and brotherly love.

RIVER GARDEN P.O. Box 112, Lakemont, GA 30552 706.782.5435 706.490.3063

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9 LIVE HEALTHY & BE WELL Rabun County Mental Health Resource Crisis Continues

By Amanda Howard Pileski, PhD

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he greatest gift therapy has given me is the awareness that Life is a humbling experience. We will ALL at some point face devastation. Whether it is poverty, abuse, major physical illness, mental illness, career devastation, marital failure, heartbreaking grief, financial downfall, horrific trauma, or our decrepit bodies falling apart and suffering to take a breath.

Tragedy will knock on each of our doors without partiality. Life hits hard, and it is not because we deserve it. It is because that’s life, and most times we don’t see it coming.

When the major medical illnesses hit, Rabun County rallies like no other around individuals and families in need. We have the Sid Weber Memorial Cancer Fund for the financial burden of chemo treatments and travel. Every prayer list in Rabun is filled with physical illnesses entire churches are uplifting in prayer. What about someone with mental illness? An individual with mental illness is not given this support. They suffer a silent illness that they are made to feel responsible for, and they feel alone – more alone than I hope any of you reading this ever experience.

The truth is that we know better and yet we still don’t do better.

Isn’t that what our parents have taught us? It’s one thing if you’re uninformed or ignorant...but if you KNOW BETTER, DO BETTER. If you are reading this article, you know better because I am telling you about the discrepancy in mental healthcare in Rabun County.

I am telling you about how the people who need it the most are often going without services because they cannot afford it. The Rabun County Health Department exists for those who can’t secure medical services because of a lack of resources. The county health department operates under the auspices of the Georgia Department of Public Health, with major financial assistance from Rabun County government. Unfortunately, for those whose problems stem from emotional roots, there is no similar help available locally. The Rabun Commission does participate with and help to fund Avita Community Partners, a 13-county resource for individuals and families in northeast Georgia experiencing the disabling effects of mental illness, developmental disabilities and

addictive diseases. This is a commendable start, but it still falls far short of matching solutions to the degree of need. Ten of those thirteen counties have a county mental health program. Rabun County does not.

It wasn’t always this way. When I was growing up here, there was both a mental health clinic and a substance abuse program. They went away some twenty years ago, due to lack of local funding, and those programs have never been restored. Unfortunately, the problems didn’t automatically go away when the funding dried up. If anything, they’re worse than ever, and we have begun 2022 with unprecedented levels of substance abuse and mental health issues. The county is currently building a new jail because the prisoner population continues to grow. And many of those who are locked up suffer from problems that mental illness and substance abuse intervention could address.

Making treatment options available to this ever-growing segment of the population is more than just an act of compassion. It actually makes very good business sense. We’re blessed with quality physical medical assistance in this county, and if we’re going to look out for the county’s physical health, why would we do any less for those suffering with mental illness and its family of related issues? After all, we don’t live in a third-world country.

Two years ago, intending to at least start the ball rolling toward a solution that I hoped would grow and gain vibrancy over time, I established the Mental Health Task Force. My goal was to identify and support a plan to increase local mental health services, and toward that end, I approached the Rabun County Commission about funding to help forward this community-help initiative. While the commission was sympathetic, subsequent unbudgeted Covidrelated expenses and unfunded state mandates materialized before they could take any action.

I established Georgia Mountain Psychological Associates, Inc., (a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization) and provided office space for this clinic operation. Since June 2020, more than 240 clients have been

Dr. Amanda Howard Pileski is originally from Rabun County and moved back three years ago to raise her three children (ages 9, 6, and 5) and provide affordable psychotherapy to the underserved communities of Northeast Georgia. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in Psychology, a master’s degree in School Counseling from Georgia State University, and a doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She has worked in various college counseling centers, hospitals, nursing homes, and in private practice. Dr. Pileski is the co-founder of the Mental Health Task Force of Rabun County and the Director of Georgia Mountain Psychological Associates, Inc (GMPA).

For an appointment, contact GMPA @ 706.782.1237. You can visit the GMPA website at gamtnpsych.org 40 - www.laurelofnortheastgeorgia.com - February 2022

treated and we currently have more than 50 individuals on a waiting list. Our scope has grown to include six offices and six in-house service providers, along with two additional providers off-site.

However, the needs continue to grow, and we lack the capacity to further expand. In 2021, GMPA’s income totaled $44,036.93, but our expenses, including payroll for those clinicians not in separate practice, totaled $55,207.49.

There are no psychiatrists in Rabun and we have struggled since our inception to find psychiatric services, a task only made more difficult because of Covid. If space were available, we could feasibly create a service model similar to the currently existing dental clinic, where retired professionals could donate their time and/or supervise GMPA’s nurse practitioner. This is an on-going problem that has proven that it will not go away on its own.

On July 16th, 2022, a new 988 emergency number (much like 911) dedicated to individuals with mental health needs will go into effect. The purpose is to provide support to individuals in crisis and then connect them with local services. In Rabun County, there are no locally funded services to serve that individual who reaches out for help. We’re already behind in trying to meet current needs.

How can we do more with no more support or resources? It will take action on both the local and the state level to create a sustainable plan to address mental health in Rabun going forward, and we cannot afford not to be successful.

For that success to come about, Rabun County’s Commission would be asked to either provide rent-free office space for AVITA or provide a minimum of $30,000.00 annually in funding to GMPA. Commissioners would be asked to communicate with local legislators the need for mental health services in Rabun County, and to name the week of May 1-7, 2021 as Mental Health Awareness Week in Rabun County.

There are hurting people with needs that must be met or our community will continue paying a high price because of this lapse in service and understanding.

O

n Tuesday, February 22, at 6:00 pm, Georgia Mountain Psychological Association, Inc. will be on the agenda for the Rabun County Commission meeting. GMPA will discuss mental healthcare in the county. At 4:00, supporters of GMPA and cheerleaders for those who can’t help themselves are invited to meet at the Rabun County Courthouse for marshmallows and hot chocolate. Afterward, the group will walk the short distance to the Rock House in downtown Clayton, where a brief candlelight service will be held to memorialize those lost to suicide, substance abuse and mental illness. At 5:30, the group will return to the courthouse in time for the commission meeting.

Community Recognition GMPA wants to specifically thank Rabun County Commissioner, Kent Woerner, for recently coordinating meetings with AVITA CEO (Cindy Levi) and Rotary Members (Lee Penland and Jef Fincher). We want to recognize the Lake Burton Civic Association, Steve Raeber and Judy Cathey with the Lake Rabun Association, and Blue Ridge Wilderness for their ongoing support. Thank you to the following individuals who have contributed thus far to the “GMPA 100 club”. It is not too late to join the 100 club and please contact us if you donated and your name is not listed below: Martha and Roy Wood Sarah Gillespie Barbara Cantrell Charlotte Belson Stephen and Carol Raeber Ron and Sue Bishop Lee Penland Inge Luechenger David and Karen Bacon Tony and Tammy Whitmire Karen Kuharcik Linda Moore and Adrienne Moore Judith Cathey Sonny and Sharon Smart Richard Newkirk Mary Shannon Scott Gail Weaver FNP-C and Clark Weaver Rachel Stikeleather Andrea Miller-Bruce In honor of Mollie Winston, DDS In honor of Paul and Sandy Strong In honor of Mrs. E. Miller In honor of Robert W. Bruce, Jr., MD In honor of Andrea Miller-Bruce In honor of Shelby Cloud In honor of Mr. and Mrs. Marlan Wilbanks In honor of Miles and Jenny Marks Dr. Robert and Mrs. Sandy Browning Just Friends Organization

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9 LIVE HEALTHY & BE WELL

Be a Lifesaver

By Tracy McCoy

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wo decades ago I kinda saved a life. I forced my breath into her mouth and pumped her chest five compressions to two breaths, over and over. My health occupations instructor was well satisfied that “Annie” was revived and I got a small card to carry in my wallet that said I could possibly save your life too. Now, don’t be alarmed when I tell you that I have not put my skills into practice since that day in 1983 and recently learned that things have changed a lot since then. Knowledge is power and science and our healthcare industry are constantly evolving and learning more about life saving measures and I thought I should too.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) may seem like it’s been around for ages, but the technique wasn’t finalized until 1960.

The history of it is fascinating, if you have a desire to research it.

It has continued to become simpler with each year and it’s a case of something beats nothing. My go-to for this article was Trampes Stancil of Rabun County EMS. Trampes is a certified CPR Instructor through the American Heart Association and an outstanding EMT. All around, Trampes is one of the finest folks I know.

“If a person goes into cardiac arrest, time is crucial. For every minute a person goes without CPR their chances of survival are reduced.

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For instance after one minute their chance of survival is reduced 1020%, minute two that becomes 20-40%, minute three their chance of living is reduced by 40-60%, if they go four minutes without CPR being started, that becomes 60-80% and at five minutes they have little to no chance of survival,” Trampes explained to me. Allowing that to sink in, I began thinking how fast five minutes goes by and how easily a life can be lost if there is no one trained to perform CPR. It can be the difference in life and death.

This is a true story about a woman in her 60s at the time, who arrived at a local grocery store to do some shopping. She likely had a list of items she planned to buy or was picking up a few things to prepare for supper that night. In the produce department with her purse on her shoulder and hand on her shopping cart she collapsed. In a split second she was down, falling hard. Someone shouted for help and there just happened to be EMS staff having lunch in the dining area of the store. They responded immediately and their efforts, combined with the grace of God, saved her life. Her son, a local Physician, confirmed that she was in full blown cardiac arrest and in her case CPR was lifesaving.

Today, unlike when I learned CPR decades ago, hands-on CPR is easier for the average citizen to perform. The first step is ALWAYS call 911 first! The next step is to check for breathing and pulse, if there is none, place your palm in the center of the chest and place your other hand over it. Begin hard chest compressions two inches deep in the center of the chest. A good measure of the tempo needed is the Bee Gees song Staying Alive. Continue the chest compressions until help arrives. AEDs (automated external defibrillator) are definitely a lifesaving tool. This portable defibrillator is available in most public spaces. The device will give you step-by-step voice instructions explaining how to check for

pulse and breathing and how to position electrode pads on the patients chest.

The AED machine measures heart rhythm and determines if a shock is needed.

The machine is programmed not to deliver a shock if one is not needed. Talk to your doctor before purchasing an AED for your home. Churches and organizations that would like to purchase an AED unit can contact Trampes Stancil for help in attaining one.

Where can we go to learn the latest guidelines for CPR and other lifesaving measures? I asked Trampes that very question and he in fact teaches CPR through the American Heart Association and regularly works with local church groups, civic associations, HOAs, or any group who desires to take a Hands-Only CPR & AED Class FREE of charge. Classes of 3-5 people are ideal and with the recent spike in Covid-19 cases he said they’ll only schedule if it is safe to do so and may require masks.

Trampes Stancil and Tammy Jones demonstrated CPR for me, on a much more compact “Annie”. “CPR is easier than it’s every been and you never know when

you might need to know how to do it,” Trampes told me. I hope that I will be able to help someone in need and pray someone will be there to help me.

To set up a class or join one give Trampes a call at 706-982-1537. If he doesn’t answer please leave a message and he will get back to you. A shout out to our EMS and those of the counties around Rabun. Your work does not go unnoticed and is always appreciated.

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9 LIVE HEALTHY & BE WELL

Pet Health

February is Pet Dental Health Month

By Jamie Smoot Speed

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ow, my dog’s breath smells fantastic.... said almost no one ever. Does your pet brush it’s teeth twice daily? Do you take it to the dentist twice yearly to have its cleaning and its bite wings taken? Most likely the answer is no. Yet we are sometimes surprised when our beloved’s breath stinks. Dental health is a very important part of human health, and also a very important part of our pet’s health.

Well, what causes dental disease, or periodontal disease?

It starts with an infection from dental plaque on the surfaces of the teeth and gums. This bacteria irritates the gumlines if allowed to buildup on teeth, and leads to infection of the bone holding the teeth. Once plaque hardens and becomes calculus, it is difficult to remove without dental tools.

The truth is, while bad breath might be the most common symptom noticed by pet owners, this is usually just a small

effect of periodontal disease. Gingivitis can cause bleeding and mouth pain. While this is happening, roots start to degrade, and teeth become loose and fall out. As this happens, the bacteria that live in the mouth can enter the bloodstream and cause damage to the kidneys, liver, and the heart.

Dr. Allison Snow DVM, resident of Rabun County and Owner of Georgia Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery in Cumming, Georgia says, “The number one suggestion to help keep your pets’ teeth healthy is daily or every other day brushing.”

She also goes on to say that it is recommended to get consistent oral exams with your primary veterinarian and annual cleanings with dental radiographs to determine your pets’ individual needs. Dr. Snow suggests, “While there are a lot of products out there that claim to provide adjunctive treatment, going on to VOHC.org is a great resource for determining which ones are efficacious.”

Products approved by the VOHC that can be found right here in Rabun County include science diet T/D food, Purina Pro Plan Dental Chewz, C.E.T Veggiedent Chews, OraVet Dental Hygiene Chews, Whimzees Brusheez treats, and Greenies. Local Veterinary clinics and pet stores carry toothbrushes and toothpaste along with water additives, dental wipes, and breath fresheners to also help with overall oral health.

For more information, visit your Veterinarian and www.VOHC.org.

The suggested products can also be found at your local Claws & Paws Pet Store or Clayton Veterinary Hospital on Main Street in downtown Clayton.

Jaime Smoot Speed was born in West Virginia, went to James Madison University with a BS in molecular biology, then worked at Johns Hopkins doing research until attending UGA for Vet School. She graduated 2010 and moved to Clayton with her husband who is a native five years ago. She works part time at Rabun Animal Hospital. She opened Claws & Paws in December 2020. You can reach Claws & Paws at 706-212-7322 or visit their website: claytonpawsandclaws.com or on facebook and instagram: @claytonclawsandpaws

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9 LIVE HEALTHY & BE WELL

“Enjoy life, we’ll take good care of you.”

“E

njoy life, we’ll take good care of you.” This is the motto that Dr. Beck and the staff of Life Point Medical live and work by. Timothy Scott Beck started Life Point Medical in 2016 after building a career as an internist in hospital, nursing home, and outpatient clinics. His passion is adult primary care, taking care of individuals throughout all stages of their lives, ages 14 and up. In addition to managing chronic illnesses, he strongly advocates for preventative care by identifying risk factors and managing medical problems before they become major issues.

“I love it when someone takes control of their health and are able to improve their quality of life and add years of longevity through lifestyle changes and simple medical strategies.”

This approach has led him to build Life Point Medical well beyond just a doctor’s office, to a multi-disciplinary practice. With the help of John Williams, PA; Monique Petteys, FNP; and Hannah Wilker, FNP, Dr. Beck is able to offer a wide range of services to include acute care, dermatology, incontinence treatment, hormone replacement treatment and much more. “COVID has made it where people don’t want to travel out of town to get the services that they want. Our solution is to accommodate that need by offering a wide array of services provided in one practice, right here in Rabun County.”

Dr. Beck graduated from Rabun County High School in 1989 and went on to serve in the US Air Force for five years active duty and three years in the National Guard. He attended Georgia Southern University, graduating with a BS in Biology and went on to earn his doctorate in medicine at The Medical College of Georgia. He did his internship and residency at Greenville Memorial Hospital in South Carolina where he met his wife of 16 years, Allison. They work together at Life Point Medical, where Allison serves as office co-manager. They have three sons: Timothy, Tucker and Truett.

When they are not working, the Becks enjoy camping, hiking, playing cards and spending time with their border collie Lance.

Dr. Beck also serves on the board of Place of Hope, a local nonprofit started in 2020 serving children and foster families in Rabun County.

You can keep up with Dr. Beck through his daily YouTube videos that he started during the first weeks of the COVID pandemic. His YouTube channel quickly grew to daily posts discussing relative educational and inspirational tidbits that have now grown to more than 3,000 regular viewers.

For more information on Dr. Beck and the services at Life Point Medical you can call them at 706-782-0016, see them at 189 Bo James Street, Clayton, or visit online at www.drtsbeck.com.

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Services

for your Home

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Services for your Home

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9 MOUNTAIN HOMES

Featured Home

Harry Norman Home

This Home “Wows,” Then “Wows” Again!

By John Shivers

T

he infamous, proverbial “WOW” factor, also known as that first impression of something that knocks your socks off, is never more important than when you’re shopping for a home. Whether it’s for your primary residence, or for a second home where you’ll retreat from the rat race, when it comes to the newly built home at 488 Smokey Hollow Drive in Dillard, it’s more a case of which “wow,” exactly, makes the greatest impact. Access is by a well-maintained private road, and both Clayton and Highlands, North Carolina are no farther than twenty minutes away.

This is a multiple-wow home, inside and out, so prepare yourself to be bowled over!

The home’s placement on 4.08± heavily-wooded acres not only provides a high degree of privacy, but also guarantees some of the most breathtaking four-season views you’ll ever have occasion to enjoy. Whether it’s the autumn landscape or snowy vistas of north Georgia into North Carolina, when this home is where you lay your head, those panoramic sweeps of beauty are always available, thanks to walls of glass that invite the outside in. A combination of open decks and screened porch areas ensure that you can experience those views while sipping your morning coffee or dining alfresco with friends. “Wow,” you’ll say. “THIS is living!”

Consisting of two structures, this mountain paradise includes the main house and an adjacent two-car garage with a two bedroom, one bath guest apartment on the second level. Use the apartment as overflow guest space, as housing for your college age children, your 56 - www.laurelofnorthgeorgia.com - February 2022

parents, or even as a vacation rental opportunity. A short, covered walk connects the main dwelling and the garage.

Enter the main house, custom-built with a lengthy and detailed list of high-end design elements: shiplap siding, wood floors, and handmade railings. Immediately your eyes are drawn to the massive amounts of glass, and upward to the vaulted ceiling. This great space that houses the kitchen, dining and living areas under the one roofline, is worthy of another “wow” itself. Then it gets better!

The chef’s kitchen provides a virtual epicurean studio for the pleasure and convenience of the resident cooks, who can not only be a part of the action while they prepare the chow and enjoy those unbelievable views, thanks to the home’s creative floor plan.

A full complement of professional quality stainless appliances, furniture-style custom cabinetry, a coffee bar, open shelving, marble countertops, and an island of immense proportions that includes dining space, open and closed storage, generous work space and a farmhouse sink, set this kitchen apart. Another wow!

The remainder of the room is dedicated to dining and living, and given the generous amount of floor space, options for the layout of these two areas and furniture configuration itself make this house even more versatile. A large fireplace, floor-toceiling windows and doors let in all the glorious light year-round, and increase the livability factor of this home.

Two secondary bedrooms and a bath are on one end of the house, while the master suite with en suite bathroom occupies the opposite end. Thanks to an entire wall of windows, the fantastic views are a part of this suite, and the spa-quality bath includes a deep soaker tub, spacious walk-in shower, and his and hers closets.

Harry Norman, REALTORS® Luxury Lake and Mountain agent Evelyn Heald represents this unbelievable chance to get your mail at an unforgettable address. Construction is estimated for completion in February 2022, so now’s the perfect time to make your appointment to tour it in person, by contacting Evelyn at (cell) 404-372-5698 or (office) 706-212-0228.

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Services

for your Home

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9 MOUNTAIN Lloyd’HOMES s Cove Offers Paradise, Privacy, Peace

By John John Shivers Shivers By

W

hen a home passes from one generation to the next over the decades an unwritten heritage evolves, and out of that evolution, a story of family and dedication and conservation emerges. This tapestry that time creates, more detailed, more complex, passes to each subsequent owner, as it will with the property currently offered for sale in Lloyd’s Cove at Scaly Mountain, North Carolina.

Along with the inherited story, the purchasers of this place, lovingly known as “The Lawd’s Cove,” will also get 130± acres of privacy and pristine beauty, along with a hand-built log cabin. All of this has been in the same family for over 100 years, and they’re ready to hand it off to another family to continue the saga.

This property is unusual in that even at such a high elevation, a large percentage of the land lies in usable acreage, with both open meadow land, forested tracts, and several creeks and mountain streams. Mother Nature really outdid herself, and you will savor the results as you gaze on the distant vistas that include Fish Mountain in one direction, and Big Scaly Mountain in the other direction, while kicked back on the outdoor porches at your one-of-a-kind log cabin. Nestled in these beautiful, ancient hills, surrounded by so much privacy and solitude, you’re still only a quick and convenient drive to either Highlands or Dillard.

The landscape is phenomenal, but it only sets the tone for the home that crowns the setting, where you’ll find a hand-built log home that gazes out on the breathtaking four-season panoramas that you truly have to see to appreciate.

If you’re in the market for a log cabin home, there are plenty of sources out there that will build one for you. Just like the one they 60 - www.laurelofnorthgeorgia.com - February 2022

built for the customer before you. And just like the one they’ll build for the next customer that comes after you. But this cabin is different. You can tell this by the character of the logs themselves, their shape and their particular natural attributes, and the chinking. This cabin came from no kit; it’s never even seen a cookie cutter.

Outside, a large front covered porch conveniently adjacent to the open log carport with a second level accessed by stairs, extends a warm welcome to owners and family alike. A second level balcony over the porch provides more relaxation opportunities. Comfortable chairs provide a great place to rest a spell and soak in the beauty, and then just inside the windowed double front doors, lies a great room, dining/kitchen of great proportions. And the vaulted ceilings and the mountain stone fireplace that soar all the way to the gable make it seem even more spacious. Both structures have aged metal roofs in keeping with the authenticity of the structure.

The kitchen, which is open to the great room, features a full-complement of appliances, cabinet and countertop work space. Two more bedrooms on the ground level, and a large open attic bedroom overlooking the great room round out the overnight accommodations. If ever a home was designed to sleep family and friends comfortably, this home answers that need.

This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a spectacular tract of land as well as an authentic log home, so in keeping with this property’s story and its history! Are you ready to inherit the story of this phenomenal property and begin to add to it?

Contact Poss Realty agents Lori Thompson at 706-490-1820 or Jim Blalock at 706-490-1404, or at the office, 706-782-1212, and tell them you’re ready to tour MLS #20001639.

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Thinking about selling your home in 2022?

Don’t miss this free seminar featuring local experts discussing the key issues.

February 19th 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM Poss Realty, 809 Highway 441 South, Clayton. Breakfast will be provided.

RSVP to ‘roger@therealtorglenn.com’ or 770-312-7940.

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9 AROUND TOWN

Michael on the Map Franklin, North Carolina

Former Cherokee Town of Nikwasi, “Gem Capital of the World”, Trail Town

By Michael Detrick

I

n this series I will be traveling to the towns of northeastern Georgia and western North and South Carolina, sharing my adventures and discoveries as I meet the locals who make up the area. Hop in my Jeep and let’s hit the road!

Take 2: Franklin, North Carolina As I geared up for the second installment of this collection of town-hopping adventures, winter had finally decided to come say hello, and she did so in treacherous fashion. The night before I was to embark on the 36-mile journey to Franklin, North Carolina, Mother Nature eagerly accosted our neck of the woods in a mean winter mix that promptly announced she was ready for combat. High-force winds could be heard whipping though the forest that night, ripping branches from trunks and trunks from the earth, leaving behind a battleground of woodland carnage. Timber!, indeed.

Snow-laden on top but black and wet underneath, I made it about ½ mile down the earthen road until one of many storm casualties lay horizontal before me, blocking further travel. I didn’t have a chainsaw big enough for this tree, so back home for the day I went.

Holed up in my cabin and eager to learn about the town I had planned to visit, I used the day instead to do some research.

With a population of 4,239, Franklin was developed around a 1,000-year-old platform mound, marking the center of the former Cherokee town of Nikwasi. Formally incorporated in 1855, the city of Franklin lies just several miles north of the Georgia border, entirely within the 531,148-acre Nantahala National Forest, the largest of North Carolina’s four National Forests. It is in Franklin’s share of this protected land that you will find the Wilson Lick Ranger Station, the first constructed (c 1913) in Nantahala.

A nearby point of interest to this historic structure is Wayah Bald, which boasts the Wayah Bald Observation Tower. Built – for fire detection – of locally sourced stone in 1937, the tower sits at the area’s highest point of 5,385 feet. (Unfortunately, due to seasonal road closure, I was unable to gain access to the tower, but this is only temporary.) The Appalachian Trail and the Bartram Trail cross at Wayah Bald, which brings us to the Franklin of today’s emblazoned identity.

While the town is rich in gems and minerals (native stones include ruby, sapphire, and garnets) and is locally known as the “Gem Capital of the World”, most locals you run into will proudly state that Franklin is a “trail town”, as decreed by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Franklin’s identity as a “trail town” is evidenced in the namesake of my first order of business upon arriving there. When I decided to do a piece on Franklin, I reached out to my good friend Stuart Fensom, with whom I share a hometown, and whose family has had a mountain house in the area for as long as I can recall. Stuart is the kind of guy who sends you a “Flight of the Navigator” (child of the 80s here)

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movie poster framed and mounted as a surprise gift, so his advice is to be trusted without discussion. Thus, based on his input, I got to town and went to The Lazy Hiker to have a beer.

Opening in 2015 and located in the former town hall and fire department, The Lazy Hiker Brewing Company was the first brewery in Franklin. Upon entering the handsomely repurposed structure, you are instantly drawn into a place full of chill. With 18-20 brews on tap, Head Brewer Graham Norris takes pride in keeping a running selection of ales, lagers, porters, stouts, sours, a nitro, and everything else, to keep all walks of clientele happy and hopefully as adventurous as the path that led many of them here. (A recent experiment in a holiday ale used spruce tips in the fermentation process.)

Franklin sits 110 miles north from the start of the Appalachian Trail, so, as Norris stated, “we are the first stop off the trail for a lot of the hikers. A lot of these folks are just ready to sit down and have a beer.” Norris and the staff love the colorful cast of characters that come through the Lazy Hiker’s doors, and the “fun stories” they share. If you make the time to make the hike happen, you likely have both an intriguing backstory and are creating a nifty current one.

In the hotter months – this true wilderness journey – shorn of typical hygiene practices, can elicit a ripe olfactory atmosphere. As Norris disclosed, “It gets pretty earthy in here.”

During my visit to The Lazy Hiker, I sampled a couple of their varieties before settling on the Peak Bagger Strong Ale, which my bartender Sarah served me in a 16 oz imperial glass (it was their mid-size option). At 8.8%, its flavor assembly noted caramelized plums, rich malt, and fruity yeast. I would definitely have it again, but with these brewmasters at the helm, I’d be hard-pressed to not further explore.

The Lazy Hiker sums up their viewpoint of things this way: “For those of us fortunate to live here year-round, we take it slow, enjoy the mountains in every season, and enjoy our craft beer.” A second taproom has been opened in nearby downtown Sylva, North Carolina.

After enjoying my local craft beer with Sarah, Graham, and some brewery regulars, it was time for a bite to eat, and somewhere had struck my eye as I rambled around in my Jeep to The Stone Roses (1980s proto-alt rock) in downtown Franklin. Before you hit the pocket of Main Street that would make Norman Rockwell proud, I passed a cinder block building covered in murals that read 828 Café. It begged a visit.

Once inside, to my delight, I met the person in charge of the murals, who was rushing about from the kitchen to tables, keeping an eye on the bustling dining room. I ordered a Nashville Hot (holy moly!) chicken sandwich and house made fries (both were delicious) and chatted with artist Marina Tkach and owners Beatriz and David Gomez, who all posed for a photo with the giant painted bear outside. The café also features other local art and is decorated with reclaimed wood from Culpepper’s Otto Depot, an architectural salvage store in nearby Otto, North Carolina.

When my taste buds cooled down a bit, I took a recommendation from Graham from the Lazy Hiker and set my sights on Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Brew Pub. German for “beer hall or restaurant in a basement”, Rathskeller is an all-in-one coffee shop, beer and wine bar, and bakeshop.

Inside I discovered an exposed brick and deep-hued wooden kind of cellar carved into the outlying mountainous terrain and tucked up behind the Main Street thoroughfare. This place feels steeped in stories – as if plucking a brick from the wall would expose the secrets of the mountains.

Rathskeller has a ceiling bedecked with the flags of nations and a back wall covered in the collegiate pennants of patrons past (I was presented a Sharpie to sign the one for my alma mater), and I got to chat with owners Natasha February 2022 - www.laurelofnorthgeorgia.com - 65

9 AROUND TOWN MICHAEL ON THE MAP Sebring and Adam Kimsey, a local couple who grew up in Franklin. “This was somewhere you could go as a kid and be treated like an adult,” Tasha mused. She always felt at home here. I can see why.

Fun fact: Before alcohol sales were passed in Franklin in 2003, Rathskeller had the covert distinction of being the first place to sell beer in Franklin, in a kind of modern Speakeasy setting. ($3 got you a pint wrapped in a brown paper bag.) Scandalous!

But beyond this exciting dark cellar tale of storied Rathskeller history and expounding upon the local nomenclature of Franklin as a “trail town”, is the mission that Tasha and Adam share as members of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Like many other locals, they are both avid volunteers that seek to maintain this area’s piece of this great North American corridor.

And as I left one lower ground corridor and ascend to another on the higher ground Main Street of downtown Franklin (also by recommendation of my friend Stuart ) I had in mind one more establishment I wanted to check out. After a brewery, a bite, and an “underground haunt”, it was time to end my day in Franklin at a… museum.

The Scottish Tartans Museum and Heritage Center is a non-profit operation founded by the Scottish Tartans Society and is the only one of its kind in the United States.

It is believed by some that there are more people of Celtic heritage in North Carolina that anywhere in the world, and there is no doubt a more befitting place for such a collection of traditional Scottish Highland Dress, as the Scots-Irish settled in Western North Carolina in record numbers in the 1760s-70s.

As my gracious host, museum board director Jim Akins shared with me the museum’s extensive collection of kilts and other tartan artifacts (dating back to the 1700s), as well as their impressive display of over 600 tartan patterns, representing clans, families, districts, and other organizations. Jim is especially proud of the two tartan specimens he has on display that went to the moon and back with Alan Bean and Jerry Ross on Apollo 12. (He, having reached out to these extraordinary men regarding these items, knows firsthand, you never know what you might get if only you ask.)

I surely didn’t know what was in store for me on my excursion to the county seat of Macon County, and I was not disappointed to have given this awesome little mountain trail town a proper exploration. I would recommend to anyone in the area to consider a beer, a bite, a beer (or coffee) in a basement, a museum (The Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum is another option), and a hike (of course I also popped onto the Appalachian Trail after visiting with my new friends in Franklin).

There is also an extensive trove of unique stores, outfitters, and boutiques in picturesque downtown Franklin to peruse – I guarantee you’ll find something (you didn’t know) you need!

Thank you for joining me on another day of discovery, and I hope you find your nose in these pages again for the months to come! It’s now time for me to zone out to some CCR and grill up some burgers. You’re all invited to the feast if you can find it. Until next time, stay warm, support local businesses, witness the nature around you, go on an adventure (but be prepared with a chainsaw), and I’ll see you again next month in Michael on the Map!

“Doo, doo, doo, lookin’ out my back door.”

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While visiting North Carolina don’t miss visiting with these advertisers.

Bill’s Aluminum 3791 Highlands Rd. Franklin, NC Christine’s Home Decor 9958 Georgia Rd. Otto, NC Creative Framing 482 Depot Street Franklin, NC Fire & Light Glass Studio 9788 Georgia Rd. Otto, NC Mossy Rock 37 E. Main St. Franklin, NC Mountain Spring Spas & Pools 611 Highlands Road Franklin, NC The Attic Antiques 268 E. Palmer St. Franklin, NC The Classy Flea 51 Union Otto Daycare Rd Franklin, NC The Furniture Barn 5850 Georgia Rd. Franklin, NC

Vintage Exotics Found in Clarkesville!

G

reen Acres Antiques & Marketplace is please to announce they have added vintage handbags to their impressive selection of antiques. The shop opened Fall 2021 and honestly it just keeps getting better! The handbags are vintage mid-century purses, wallets, totes and clutches. They are constructed of exotic leathers such as: Crocodile, Snake, Alligator, and Lizard. The hardware on most pieces is 18K gold gilt adding to the elegance of these bags.

From makers such as H. Stevens of London, Joseph Magnin, and Brahmin, these bags were a favorite of the Elite. The skins of alligators and crocodiles create the most elegant, unique, expensive and durable leather products in the world. These bags are unique, rare and well, they’re just cool! Many lined with calf leather and some boast whip stitch edges.

This collection at Green Acres is impressive, but it’s honestly the tip of the iceberg when you take visit this antique store. Located under the gold awning across from the gazebo at 1478 Washington St., Clarkesville, GA. For more information you can follow them on Facebook @greenacresantiques.marketplace or call 706-754-3337.

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Lovin’ the Journey

AROUND TOWN

A young coach making waves….

By Mark Holloway

B

eing 22 years old and given a $16 million dollar pool is a big deal.

Well, that’s sorta what happened.

Rachel Nichols is now 24. She’s the head coach of the Tallulah Falls School swim team.

But she was a coach with a team…without a pool.

Nearly fresh out of Mars Hill University, she was offered a teaching position at the local private school and the head coaching position.

The school is a breath away from the world famous Tallulah Gorge.

The young coach began swimming competitively at six years old at the behest of her mom, Susan. Susan Nichols and Athletic Director Scott Neal were extremely instrumental in the school building the Natatorium, a state-of-the-art facility which opened in February of 2021.

(Natatorium comes from a latin word for swim.)

Prior to the new pool and its impressive building, the TFS swimmers had to travel to Habersham’s Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center and be at the mercy of what swim lanes were available just to practice, not to mention the normal rigors of academics, homework and other activities.

Despite the handicap of travel time, TFS has routinely placed in top ten at state competition events for years, all this without a pool of their own. Rachel says, “In the past three seasons, 14 new school records have been set, with eight of those records set during the 2021-22 season.

Dr. Larry Peevy is a great guy. He’s the school president. When they built the Natatorium, Ron Cantrell and his team of skilled builders and designers made sure there was a VIP Suite from which to watch swim competition. The other day I dropped in while Larry and his wife Dinah enjoyed some aquatic action. “Rachel is really amazing. She’s a fine athlete in her own right, and an excellent teacher and coach.

And right now she’s got some real fast swimmers who just might go far in the near future.”

While I observed Rachel at the swim meet, I saw first hand how she and her team of coaches operate. She’s a real motivator.

A parent of two athletes, Molly and Henry, Brian Rickman told me, “She is very mature beyond her years. You would not know she was a new coach when she started. She never looks nervous. Rachel has a strong presence and she is able to get so much out of the kids from pure positivity. She can be intense and push them to their best with a smile on her face. My kids love her. They have never had a day when there was anything negative. They sure love their coaches.”

Rachel told me, “In 2016 I began hearing rumors about a pool.” Then in 2017 those rumors became real. That was the hard part for me because I began to pester everyone, asking them when the pool would happen.”

Before construction could begin, Trey Crumley and Ron Cantrell said lots of site prep had to take place, including a good amount of underground dynamiting to level the building site. The massive underground explosions were impressive yet only to their eyes. “No rocks went flying through the air and across Tallulah Gorge,” Ron told me. He and Trey were the brains behind the project and many other buildings on campus. Ron has grandkids who are swimmers at the school and Trey has two teenagers of his own who now swim in the Natarotium he helped build. Trey says, “We traveled all over the Southeast, visiting many first-class facilities, Mark and Carol Holloway own PropertyStewards.com and are passionate about delivering excellent care to the homes and property of their clients. They are outdoor adventurers and love the thrills of rock climbing and hikes to waterfalls and exploring all of God’s creation.

Mark can be reached by calling 706-490-7060.

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from government pools to college venues. We truly have a first class building and pool. As for Rachel, she’s hard-nosed, but understanding and the kids really like her.”

The Natatorium translates into not having to share lanes in a borrowed pool far from home. “I don’t have to worry about logistics anymore. Now I can spend more time sharpening my 65 athletes’ skills and mechanics.”

While I was in the VIP Suite, I floated an idea to Dr. Peevy on behalf of the local triathlon community: “What if there was a program where the Natatorium could be a training site for local triathletes who are entered in an upcoming event during off season?” Dr. Peevy was warm to the idea. “We already have a community swim instruction program for children beyond our school. So perhaps we could take a look at that idea.”

As for Rachel’s trajectory, “I’d like to see our swimmers place in top five at state, in at least four events of eleven total. And a thriving middle and high school program.” But perhaps her most impacting contribution in the years ahead won’t be measured by trophies and medals.

“I feel a pressure probably more internally than anything because I know I’ve been charged with this. This is a huge undertaking, to come in and adequately prep these swimmers not just for competition but as humans. Although we have this great facility, it’s more about building great athletes. It’s about building great character.”

Coach Nichols aspires to an even loftier goal: she’d like every Tallulah Falls School student to know how to swim before they leave campus for good. I must admit, when she shared that goal, I got choked up a bit. When we live in the land of lakes, rivers and streams, knowing so many kids will know how to safely swim in our local waters and beyond…that gave me pause.

“It’s more important that every single student who graduates from this school knows how to swim and swim well and knows water safety than knowing how to swim competitively.”

I can only hope Rachel grows old here as a successful TFS coach, impacting young hearts to embrace hard work, value endurance, and have them aspire to greatness.

Visiting with Coach Nichols in the bleachers of the amazing Natatorium was time well spent. Congratulations, Coach.

See you on the trail.

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Mary Ann Rutherford Lipscomb Education Advocate and Founder of Tallulah Falls School

By Dick Cinquina

M

ary Ann Rutherford was born in 1848 to an old southern family in Athens, Georgia. Her father was a mathematics professor at the University of Georgia, where she grew up living close to the campus. The future trajectory of her life was shaped by these influences.

She graduated with honors from the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens.

In 1869 she married Francis Lipscomb, son of the chancellor of the University of Georgia. He died five years later, leaving his wife to raise three young children. To care for her family, Lipscomb moved to Washington, D.C. to teach at the Waverly Seminary, an elite private school. In 1880, her sister, the principal of the Lucy Cobb Institute, persuaded Lipscomb to return home and teach at that school. She accepted the offer and taught at the institute until 1895, when she became principal.

Advocating Women’s Financial Independence Lipscomb knew firsthand how difficult life could be for women, particularly those who were single mothers. She also knew that the more educated a woman was, the more options in life she would have. Driven by this belief, Lipscomb became active in the campaign for women’s financial independence, advocating that a girl’s education should include instruction in finance.

She also became a founder of the Athens Woman’s Club, which was focused on improving the quality of education in Athens schools by providing textbooks and school supplies. Lipscomb became aware that many children could not attend school, since they were working in mills. She took on mill owners in a campaign to keep children as young as six from working at hazardous mill jobs. Mill owners around Georgia strongly opposed this effort and defeated Lipscomb’s effort to curtail child labor.

Campaigning For Compulsory Public Education Although acknowledging defeat, she broadened her campaign by calling for compulsory public education. In an article published in the Atlanta Constitution, she wrote: “Our women… are now dead

earnest in advocating compulsory education for the state—a law which would take the child out of the streets and the fields and put him in the school room.” The Georgia legislature did pass compulsory education legislation…but not until 1916.

Lipscomb and members of the Athens Woman’s Club opened the first free kindergarten for working mothers, including AfricanAmericans, in 1902. It was incorporated into the public school system in 1905. Lipscomb also believed that schools should educate the public about tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. She lobbied politicians for improved public health laws and worked to include hygiene as part of school curriculums.

Tutoring Children In Tallulah Falls During summer months, Lipscomb vacationed at the family cottage in Tallulah Falls, where she became acutely aware of the poor state of education in Georgia’s mountains. In Tallulah Falls, children attended school only three months of the year in an unheated room above the town’s jail. The only other schools in the area were located in Clayton and Clarkesville, both 12 miles away. With poor roads that made for difficult travel even in good weather, those schools could well have been in another state.

Lipscomb began tutoring local children on the porch of her cottage. She also attempted to generate local support for building a school in Tallulah Falls. When this effort failed, she approached the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1905 and persuaded the group to finance a school. She also wrote to newspapers throughout the state to raise additional funds. In a letter to the Savannah News, she said: “In no part of our state are industrial schools needed as in the mountains…It is believed that, if cooking and caring for the home is to be carried into the future homes of these girls, they must be taught to practice it at school.”

Founding Tallulah Falls Industrial School With sufficient funding in hand, work was started on a six-room schoolhouse on five acres of land on the southeast slope of Cherokee Mountain. Tallulah Falls Industrial School opened on

Dick Cinquina holds graduate degrees in history and journalism, making his work for the Rabun County Historical Society a natural fit for his interests. He is the retired president of Equity Market Partners, a national financial consulting firm he founded in 1981. In addition to writing monthly articles for the Georgia Mountain Laurel, Dick helped produce the Society’s new web site and is involved with the renovation of the group’s museum. After vacationing in this area for many years, he and his wife Anne moved to Rabun County in 2018 form Amelia Island, Florida.

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July 12, 1909 with 21 boys and girls from Rabun and Habersham counties. The school was owned and operated by the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs, which has continued in that role since the school’s founding.

Lipscomb served as chairman of the school’s board of directors.

Due to poor health, she retired in 1914 and died in 1918 at the age of 70. On reporting her death, the Athens Daily Herald wrote about the “untiring energy of the woman whose big brain and loving tender heart has done more for Georgia than perhaps any woman.”

Founded As Work-Study School Like Rabun Gap Industrial School (which later became Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School), Tallulah Falls Industrial School was founded as a work-study institution. In addition to academic subjects, the school’s curriculum included a strong focus on “practical education.” During part of the school day, boys worked on the school’s farm; girls were taught homemaking skills and crafts.

Home of Mary Ann Rutherford Lipscomb, circa 1906

In a retrospective on the school, the Clayton Tribune wrote, “It was decided from the beginning that if the school was to be of any use to the mountain people it served, it must above all else give its students a practical education that could be applied in their daily lives. So in addition to traditional academic subjects, the students were taught sewing, weaving, gardening, cooking, carpentry, farming and the care of animals.” The school term ran for nine months with vacation months in January, February and March.

Exchanging A Mule For Tuition It was the school’s policy to never turn a student down for financial reasons. The Clayton Tribune noted, “The barter system of the mountain people was never so evident as in the payment of student tuitions…Some would pay with a sack of potatoes or a few bushels of corn or with the promise to dig a new well or help construct a new building.” One of the more unusual barter deals occurred in 1924 when two boys arrived on campus with instructions from their parents to offer their mule, Frank, in exchange for the tuition. “Frank Tallulah,” as the mule became known, pulled wagons and plowed fields at the school for 27 years.

The first schoolhouse, the Lucy Lester Willett Building, circa 1915

In 1937 the school officially was renamed Tallulah Falls School.

Beginning with the 1970-71 school year, the school became a totally private institution that no longer accepted public funds for its operation. Due to changing economic conditions and student needs, the school’s work-study program was curtailed, although students continue to perform daily chores. Today, Tallulah Falls School is a noted college preparatory school with an international enrollment of more than 500 students.

A Tallulah Falls School class in 1909 Learn more about our history by becoming a member of the Rabun County Historical Society. Membership and complete information about the Society’s museum are available at www.rabunhistory.org. The newly renovated museum at 81 N. Church St. in downtown Clayton, which houses the Southeast’s largest collection of Tallulah Falls Railroad artifacts, is open ThursdaySaturday from 11 to 3. The Society is a not-for-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, making membership dues and donations tax deductible. Visit us on Facebook.

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9

LOOKING BACK

Foxfire

“The Tallulah Falls Hotels: An Era Passed” Adapted from Foxfire, Spring 1988 Original article by Brooks Adams, Suzie Nixon, and Darren Volk

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allulah Falls is widely known for its natural wonders; since the early 1800s, it has been a popular tourist destination and center for recreation. To accommodate these visitors, various hotels and amenities sprang up throughout the town. In the late 1980s, Foxfire students set out to capture memories of these old lodgings. They interviewed Pete and Mary Franklin, who lived and worked in Tallulah Falls during the 1930s. They also met with Ollie Dyer. Her family moved to Tallulah Falls in 1916. She witnessed firsthand the decline from a booming tourist town to a small community during the middle of the twentieth century.

At one point in time, there were fourteen hotels and cottages in Tallulah Falls. The largest hotel was the Cliff House, built in 1882. This spacious hotel could accommodate 300 people. The Grand View and the Robinson House were also larger in size, both with dining rooms big enough to feed 250 people. “The hotels were a big boost to the economy of the area,” said Mary Franklin.

“It took a lot to feed the people when the hotels were going. The farmers from Rabun and Habersham Counties could sell their produce there, so they would grow out extra vegetables, hogs, and chickens.”

The smaller lodging options included The Pines, Oak Have, Chasm Brink, the Maplewood Inn, Riverside, Arcadia, Willard House, Young House, the Glenbrook, and The Moss House—which had been restored by Tallulah Falls School and run as the Tallulah Tea Room in the 1980s. Out of all these hotels, the only two remaining structures in 1988 were the Glenbrook and the Moss House. The town suffered a fire in 1921, which destroyed many of the historic hotels.

The Moss House, repurposed as the Tallulah Tea House

Most of the tourists that visited Tallulah Falls came from southern Georgia, seeking escape from the heat in the cool of the mountains. “People mostly sat on the porches and rocked. They enjoyed that. I suppose it was a change,” shared Pete and Mary Franklin.

Tourists also came to the area to drink from the mineral springs. “The only one that I know much about is just off the old railroad bed,” said Ollie Dyer. “It had been drilled out of a rock into a round basin, and the water flowed in it. They called it ‘Iron Springs.’ There was so much iron in it that it would get sort of fuzzy looking around the edges.”

Mary Franklin worked at the Glenbrook as a teenager.

She remembered of the dining room: “They did serve good food. It was country-style food, fresh vegetables, cornbread, biscuits and fried chicken, country ham, and things like that—a little bit like the Dillard House has now. We took the orders and carried food to the tables.

It cost about thirty-five to forty dollars for three meals a day, for one week.”

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She also explained the layout of the Glenbrook. “They had two or three rooms in the old part that they used for guests. When they built the new wing, it added fourteen more rooms and baths. The new part had a basement

and three other stories. There were two rooms in the bottom and three on the rest. They had pretty good business. As the guests entered the hotel through the main door, they walked into the lobby. There was a little window, over to the left, where they registered. To the right, there was a room called the ‘blue room.’ Across the lobby, down a couple of stairs, was a big dining room. There was a big fireplace on the back wall with a mantle piece high enough to stand up under. The kitchen was behind the dining room. On the other side of the dining room was the exit to the new part of the building with the guest rooms. The whole hotel was laid out on different little levels.”

“The Glenbrook had elaborate scroll work on the front in the main lobby. The beautiful floor was made of little, tiny pieces of wood. Much of the material was brought over from France.

It was all beautiful. And a lot of it was like the ‘gingerbread’ that they put on the outside. It gave it a real pretty look.”

The students were unable to procure more information about many of the other hotels in Tallulah Falls, as most people associated with the businesses at the time had moved on or passed away. From their conversations, though, it was evident that the hotels played a major role in the economic development of Tallulah Falls.

A group sits outside the Glenbrook on the edge of a wading pool.

You can still catch a glimpse of the bygone-era of Tallulah Falls at the old railroad station, now Tallulah 1882, or with a visit to Tallulah Falls State Park. Read more about historic hotels in Rabun County in Foxfire 10, available at the Foxfire Museum gift shop or online at www.foxfire.org Foxfire is a not-for-profit, educational and literary organization based in Rabun County, Georgia. Founded in 1966, Foxfire’s learner-centered, community-based educational approach is advocated through both a regional demonstration site (The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center) grounded in the Southern Appalachian culture that gave rise to Foxfire, and a national program of teacher training and support (The Foxfire Approach to Teaching and Learning) that promotes a sense of place and appreciation of local people, community, and culture as essential educational tools.

For information about Foxfire, foxfire.org, or call 706-746-5828.

Guests and staff outside the Glenbrook

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By The Way - Chip shortage my foot!

By Emory Jones

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xcept for electricity, I’ve not taken all the recent talk about shortages too seriously. I figure that until we can no longer find fishing poles, we’re probably not in real bad shape. Or dogs. I’d hate to see a shortage of dogs.

Speaking of dogs, my wife tells me we’re currently undergoing a cat food shortage. I hadn’t noticed myself, but on the positive side, this could logically lead to a shortage of mice and rats. I bet nobody complains about that when it happens.

Even the recent toilet paper shortage had its upside—it made choosing between paper or plastic easier.

And who cares if they run out of zucchini or cauliflower?

Fact is, we’ve come to live with lots of shortages over the years. For example, take the sudden scarcity of hula hoops back in 1960. You still can’t find a hula hoop anywhere, and believe me, I’ve tried.

But we’ve learned to adjust, and frankly, we’re a better, although thicker, people for it.

But my lack of concern about shortages took an about-face last week. That’s when a friend called to say he’d just been through the drive-through at a popular chicken eatery and—believe it or not—they were out of eggs.

The situation was quite alarming to my friend. Because if this can happen at a chicken restaurant, it can happen anywhere. And anytime you’re out of eggs, rest assured, a chicken shortage isn’t far behind. That’s just science.

By the way, and this is something my cousin, Wayne, taught me—if you’re on the phone or otherwise busy at a drive-through, just drive through backward. That way, your passenger can order for you.

They’ll usually wind up paying, too, so there’s really no downside to this cost-effective yet little-used technique.

Anyway, this egg shortage thing caused me to pick up one of those grocery store tabloids to learn what else might be happening. The first thing I noticed is that a major food processing company has just announced they may soon run short of condiments. I know Heinz sight is 20/20, but the article said the company could be playing ketchup for years.

On the next page, I read that—while it’s still up in the air—we may soon be facing a helium shortage. Experts agree this will cause balloon prices to soar.

As an interesting side note, my cousin, Wayne, used to have a girlfriend who was addicted to helium. It got so bad he finally had to let her go.

The line behind me was getting pretty long, so I decided to walk over and check out what I’d just read about an upcoming spice shortage. The manager denied this was true. In fact, he said they had all the thyme in the world.

Then he took my paper.

But not before I’d scanned a story about some sort of worldwide chip shortage. I had severe doubts about that, so I dropped in unannounced at two different Dollar Stores to see.

Chip shortage my foot. They even had ‘em at the checkout counter.

I’ll admit I couldn’t find any spicy hot Cheetos, but they’re not chips anyway. Technically speaking.

To top it all off, I heard last night on the news about a national lettuce shortage.

That won’t affect me much, but they’re asking everyone else to romaine calm. Emory Jones grew up in Northeast Georgia’s White County. After a stint in the Air Force, he joined Gold Kist as publications manager. He was the Southeastern editor for Farm Journal Magazine and executive vice president at Freebarin & Company, an Atlanta-based advertising agency. He has written seven books. Emory is known for his humor, love of history and all things Southern. He and his wife, Judy, live on Yonah Mountain near Cleveland, Georgia.

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